Letter: Amanda Stevenson deserves trial, not judicial purgatory

Editor: This letter is about 97-year-old Amanda Stevenson who has been in the St. Johns County Jail now almost a year and four months, and deemed incompetent to stand trial.

Due to a history of domestic violence there is a chance that she is innocent based on self defense and stand-your-ground rules. But rather than moving toward a fair trial, her plight seems moving toward fates worse than prison! What do we do with somebody labeled mentally incompetent? Most people have long lost track of a situation years ago when Ronald Reagan closed mental health treatment facilities, and dumped patients into homelessness.

Likewise, today’s Baker Act facilities go unnoticed. Today, rather than teach coping skills to mental patients, we instead promote unfriendly measures to make the patient never want to return to a Baker Act facility. Facilities have thus become a short-term refuge promoting 1940’s style mental ward tactics. In today’s facilities, fresh violent behavior is processed daily in a steady stream of short-term patients.

Now comes the question, “Is this truly the place for 97-year-old Amanda to regain her mental faculties? Certainly not. In fact, such a fate is worse than the jail she is in. And, progressively, county jail is worse than state prison. The length of her captivity is itself an issue. If innocent due to self defense, then how can the court justify the time she has served? If plead as involuntary manslaughter she might be eligible for time served. The court may be demanding mental health statements to shield itself from liability.

If the court can’t provide appropriate medical housing then they should at least provide her freedom. Amanda should be let out on self recognizance. She is not a flight risk. Let all else fall where it may until the trial.

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Want to take her home with you? Where do you get your information about a history of domestic violence? She shot and killed her nephew while he was asleep in his bed. She threatened to kill the DCF worker who came to check on her shortly before. She was charged in 1953 with killing her boyfriend. Should we just let her out to see if she can get another gun and kill someone else? The real probelm here is that none of the mental health treatment facilities will take her because her mental state is caused by dementia and they know she will be with them forever.

Now comes the question, "Do you truly believe a 97-year old with dementia will EVER regain her mental faculties?" If she wasn't a 97-year old with dementia, she would be in prison right now. Yes, let her come and stay with you. And sleep tight.

Apparently, we do not have a good choice available for housing Ms. Stevenson, but setting her free is not an option. Whether she goes to a State mental hospital or remains in the county jail the cost to the public to house her is very high, and the treatment available to her is very low. Though her current placement is much less than ideal, at least she is unable to access a gun and injure another person.

I have no problem with the State keeping her in custody until she is competent to stand trial, even if that never occurs.

Actually there is an option, that should have happenned long ago. Her PD assuming she has one should have her baker Acted out of the county jail into Chattahoochee. If a judge here wont do it then request a different venue. These are the kind of people who should be committed to a comfortable dignified mental home, not running loose, getting their hands on weapons, giving someone such as yourself ideas about dismantling the constitution.

"The real probelm here is that none of the mental health treatment facilities will take her because her mental state is caused by dementia and they know she will be with them forever."

At 97 years old, I don't understand that being an issue. If Gov Scott wants to create some jobs, I think we could stand to build a half dozen facilities, or at least convert a couple jails, into more dignified places for the mental incompetants, since we are keeping the wacko's in jails anyway. A mental Home is less expensive than a jail.